Chapter 12.3

Wen Yi went to the kettle beside them and poured herself a cup of warm water. She said pleasantly, “Auntie, the First Affiliated Hospital recently launched a new women’s specialized health checkup program. It is extremely effective, but there are only fifty slots per day, and they are impossible to book. Auntie, would you like me to reserve one for you? Modern women really have to watch out for things like cervical cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer—it’s terrifying. Just a few days ago, I had my mom go for one.”

Zhong Lan and Xuan Ying exchanged glances, not understanding what card Wen Yi was playing. But Xuan Ying, worried that Wen Yi had heard their earlier conversation, quickly smoothed things over. “Book it, book it. Yi Yi, help your auntie book one. She mentioned last year that her chest was hurting.”

“Sure, chest pain could be breast cancer. Getting angry a lot makes it easier to get.” Wen Yi took two sips of water, then suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, there seems to be an age limit. Auntie, how old are you this year…”

Zhong Lan’s face had already darkened. Xuan Ying answered, “Your auntie is sixty one this year.”

Wen Yi’s expression instantly turned regretful. “Oh no, that won’t work. They require under fifty. My mom barely qualified. Auntie, I will ask about other packages for you another day. How does that sound?”

The two of them were left speechless. After Wen Yi left, Zhong Lan stomped her foot hard on the floor and pointed at her retreating back, cursing, “What does she mean by that!”

Xuan Ying looked at this woman whose mood swung like a pendulum and finally advised, “Sister in law, why don’t we go get a checkup.”

Who knows, they might actually find something.

……

Wen Yi was in a bad mood. After a full day of socializing, she returned home utterly exhausted.

Qin Nanshan came into the room to discuss with her what gifts to bring tomorrow when visiting her maternal family. Wen Yi lay on the bed, not wanting to speak. “You decide.”

“What do your uncle and aunt like?”

“I do not know.”

Qin Nanshan was inexplicably rebuffed and did not quite understand. He furrowed his brows slightly and stood by the bed. “Mom said we could bring some wine. Does your uncle drink?”

“He does.”

Qin Nanshan: “Does your aunt drink tea?”

“No, my uncle does.”

“What about health supplements?”

“No need for those. My aunt likes outrageously expensive fruits. Buy her a few different kinds.”

“All right. What about your cousin? Would the latest phone model work?”

“Yes. Are there shops open now?”

“I bought it before the New Year.”

“……If you already bought it, why ask me?”

“I did not discuss it with you beforehand. But you know everything anyway, right?”

Wen Yi had not intended to get angry with him—it was not his fault—but when he suddenly said that, she felt they needed to have a fight. She sat up straight, fierce and aggressive. “I may know, but that is one thing. You putting in the effort to choose yourself is another. Asking me is just taking the easy way out. You are not putting any heart into it!”

“No wonder my mom says you are thoughtful and considerate, treating you like her own son. And you? Your whole family? Ungrateful. If I had known, I would not have let my mom marry me off here.”

Qin Nanshan frowned lightly. “What is wrong with you?”

Wen Yi was like a stubborn, irritable cat. “Nothing is wrong. I am great. My mood is the best today!”

Qin Nanshan could not comprehend her unreasonable outburst. Everything had been fine before. How did her temper flare up so suddenly? And she refused to communicate. He could only say, “Rest well. I will go out to buy the fruits.”

With his long legs, he was out the door in two steps. “Bang.” The door closed, leaving the vast bedroom with only her anger evaporating in the air.

Aaaah!!! Wen Yi was so angry her teeth itched. She randomly grabbed the pillow from the spot next to her—someone’s pillow—and hurled it forcefully at the door.

Then she took a deep breath, gently stroked her belly, and earnestly educated, “Baby, in the future, do not be like your dad. When your wife is upset, you have to let her vent. Otherwise, she might easily get breast cancer later.”

Half a minute later, she realized something was off. Her baby should be a girl. She corrected herself, “Sweetie, in the future, do not find a man like your dad. Otherwise, you will not even know how you end up dying from anger.”

That night, Qin Nanshan picked up his pillow from behind the door. With no quilt to cover himself, he had to get a new one from the wardrobe.

……

The next day, they went straight to her uncle’s house. Wen Hongyu was there too.

The trunk was packed full with a box of gifts. Qin Nanshan and her cousin made three or four trips to carry them in. Ms. Wen and her aunt were beaming from ear to ear.

Wen Yi’s anger had not subsided, and she could not vent it anywhere, so she bottled it up. Seeing the cheerful smile on Wen Hongyu’s face made her even more furious. She just knew how to grin foolishly, completely unaware of how people gossiped about her behind her back.

Pregnancy was now her golden ticket to skip chores. She did not have to wash vegetables, cook, or do dishes. Meanwhile, the son in law making his first proper visit took on the heavy kitchen duties—prepping, chopping, and stir frying with ease.

Her aunt came out to find her, pointed at the tall man’s back in the kitchen, and whispered conspiratorially, “Yi Yi, Xiao Qin is really great. Cherish him, you know? After marriage, put some focus on the family. Work can wait a bit. His family does not need you to earn big money anyway.”

Wen Yi knew her aunt meant well from her perspective, but she did not like hearing such things. She lowered her voice too. “That won’t do, Aunt. If I do not earn more money, what if we divorce later? How will the baby and I survive? Will you support us?”

Her aunt was shocked. “You child, what nonsense are you spouting? You just got married and already talking about divorce. Do not say such things in front of your mom.”

Speaking of her mom, Wen Yi seized the opportunity. “Aunt, what is going on with my mom? Is she really dating someone?”

This got her aunt excited. She glanced at Wen Hongyu busy in the kitchen, pulled Wen Yi into a room, and gossiped eagerly, “It sure looks like it. On New Year’s Eve, when she came to celebrate, a man dropped her off downstairs. I did not see him, but the car looked expensive.”

“What, your mom has not told you? Keeping it from her own daughter?”

In his forties, wealthy, considerate enough to drive her—Wen Yi screamed inwardly: Well done, Ms. Wen, finding me a brother to call Dad.

Wen Yi said, “She won’t say. Aunt, help me probe a bit. I am worried Mom is being tricked.”

“Even if you did not say it, I am keeping an eye. Your mom cannot be deceived again.”

Her aunt did not realize her slip. But Wen Yi’s heart sank. “Aunt, what do you mean ‘deceived again’? Is not my dad dead?”

Panic flashed in her aunt’s eyes. She hurriedly said, “He is dead, yes. That heartless man had an illness and never told your mom. It was so wrong for you to be left as a posthumous child.”

As a child, Wen Yi had asked a few

times about this “dead” father, then sensibly stopped mentioning him. In her heart, she truly treated him as dead. Over the past twenty plus years, Wen Hongyu and the relatives never brought him up. There was no trace of him in their lives. Over time, Wen Yi really believed he was gone.

Now her aunt had accidentally mentioned it but refused to elaborate. Wen Yi considered for a moment and did not press further. Dead or alive, he had nothing to do with them.

That evening, after everyone ate together, Wen Yi still worried about Ms. Wen. She pulled her aside and asked, “Mom, if something is going on, tell me. Aunt saw everything. Someone dropped you off downstairs.”

Wen Hongyu glared angrily toward the living room. “It is all because she has such a big mouth.”

“What, are you and Aunt planning an underground romance if she doesn’t spill? Mom, you’re about to have a grandchild. You’re not a kid anymore. And at your age, plenty of people find companions. What’s there to be shy about?”

Wen Hongyu looked at her daughter and suddenly had the illusion that Wen Yi was the mother and she was the daughter. Wen Hongyu chuckled and said calmly, “It’s no big deal. The reason I haven’t told you all is that we’re not together yet. Your mom has a clear head. I have to see if he’s reliable before making any decisions.”

Wen Yi breathed a sigh of relief and pressed on, “What does he do? Divorced or widowed? Does he have kids?”

Wen Hongyu refused to answer, saying she would bring him to meet her once things were settled. Wen Yi used herself as a negative example. “Do it sooner. Don’t let something happen while I’m still in the dark. I definitely do not want another little brother or sister.”

Wen Hongyu was so annoyed she knocked her on the head. “Wen Yi, have I spoiled you too much? Watch what you say!”

“Anyway, be careful. Don’t let someone scam you out of money or take advantage of you.”

“It’s Xiao Qin who’s being scammed by you out of money and everything else.”

“……”

……

After leaving her aunt’s house, they first returned to the eastern suburbs villa. Summer was still there.

The next day, they went back to the apartment on University East Road. This marked the end of the New Year visits. This was probably the benefit of having few relatives—family obligations wrapped up in just two days.

Aside from the upsetting incident with Zhong Lan, Wen Yi found it quite comfortable. There were none of the endless petty annoyances she had imagined or heard about from others.

Of course, that excluded the matter of turning her head and seeing a big dog drooling at her.

After she had agreed to share the master bedroom that day, Qin Nanshan moved his books back to the secondary bedroom bed. She had allowed Summer free rein in the apartment. Now the living room was entirely the dog’s playground. As soon as they got home, the big dog went wild with joy.

But dogs take after their owners. For now, she did not see any signs of Summer destroying the house.

Pregnancy always left her drowsy and exhausted even without doing anything, and it made her temper short. Wen Yi went straight to bed upon entering the door. The sheets and quilt no longer had that new smell. She fell asleep in seconds.

She slept all the way until evening. Qin Nanshan knocked and came in. “Time to eat.”

Wen Yi rolled over, wrapped in the quilt, mumbling something. Qin Nanshan did not catch it and leaned closer to the bed. “What?”

“…..Wait a bit longer……” Wen Yi was half awake, her voice weak.

Qin Nanshan did not rush her and left the room.

Half an hour later, he came in again. “Wen Yi……”

Wen Yi covered her head with the pillow. “You are so annoying.”

“The food is heated. I have an online meeting soon. Eat by yourself.”

“Oh.”

He indeed did not come in again. Wen Yi pricked up her ears to listen for sounds outside. There was nothing.

She lay there another ten minutes before finally dragging her still vacationing body out of bed.

Outside, it was dark, with light rain falling. She could feel the chill even through the window.

In the secondary bedroom, Professor David on the computer screen noticed Qin Nanshan zoning out and asked in English, “Qin? Are you okay?”

Qin Nanshan snapped back. “I am fine. Please continue.”

This was an international mathematics research group he participated in, consisting entirely of top colleagues from home and abroad. They held a video meeting once a week. The foreign professors knew these days were the Chinese New Year and brought a bit of festive spirit. The atmosphere was relaxed.

David: “When we have time, we should hold an offline meeting in China. You all have to treat us well.”

Qin Nanshan: “All professors are welcome to China.”

Gary: “Zhong and Li are married. Maybe Qin has more time.”

Qin Nanshan: “I did not get a chance to share with everyone. I just got married last week.”

David: “Wow, congratulations! That’s a surprise.”

After chatting a bit, there was suddenly a loud clatter from outside the door. Qin Nanshan could not hold back and said to the computer, “Sorry, my wife is using the kitchen. I need to check.”

Everyone paused for two seconds before bursting into laughter. Qin Nanshan had already removed his earphones and strode out.

Reaching the kitchen, he met a pair of big eyes. Wen Yi was still wearing oven mitts. “What are you coming out for?”

Qin Nanshan glanced behind her, his brows furrowing lightly. “What broke?”

Wen Yi looked back too. “Oh, nothing broke. Just chopsticks fell into the sink.”

Qin Nanshan went in, washed and placed the chopsticks properly, then removed her mitts. He took the reheated dishes from the microwave and set them on the dining table. After heating three dishes, he instructed, “No need to clean up after eating. Leave it. I will take care of it later.”

Wen Yi felt like she was being treated as useless, but she did not mind. She obediently sat down to eat.

Today’s dishes were leftovers from the eastern suburbs villa yesterday—meatballs and vegetable balls that Xuan Ying had specially made. Seeing how much she liked them, Xuan Ying had ordered extra.

Her mother in law was great in every way except being a bit soft. Wen Yi never felt another Zhong Lan from her. These educated people probably all had independent thinking and did not just believe whatever they heard.

Halfway through eating, Qin Nanshan came out again. Wen Yi glanced up at him. “I will eat. You do not need to watch me.”

But he sat down across from her. “The meeting ended.”

She still had a tiny bit of resentment and deliberately picked at the obviously freshly stir fried greens in front of her. “This tastes way too bland.”

He said, “The meatballs are rich. And over the holidays, we ate a lot of heavy food. I did not add much oil or salt.”

“But this is barely different from boiled. No appetite at all.”

The atmosphere was strange. Even Summer nearby seemed to sense the subtle tension between them, ready to ignite at any moment.

But Qin Nanshan did not argue. The spark failed to catch fire. “If you do not like it, do not eat. I will make something else tomorrow.”

Wen Yi also felt she was being unreasonably picky. Her lips twitched, and she said no more.

Half an hour later, Qin Nanshan entered the master bedroom to get clothes for a shower. “I still have some work later. You sleep first.”

Wen Yi did not respond. She slipped into the covers, turning her back to him.

Once the master bedroom door closed, Wen Yi glanced back at it, then furiously messaged Qiao En: [I can’t live like this anymore!]

Why was he so infuriatingly calm? No matter how she threw a tantrum, he showed no reaction. Would he even care if the Earth exploded?

And during the New Year, of all times—work, work, work. Why not just sleep with your work!

Qiao En replied: [Zhuang Yue added me and asked if I want to go out for dinner tomorrow. What do you think—should I say yes?]

Wen Yi: [I said I can’t live like this anymore!]

Qiao En: [Why don’t you two come along? It would be awkward for me alone.]

Wen Yi: [Qiao En!!]

Qiao En: [It’s not that big a deal. You should have expected this before marrying him. Emotional stability is way better than those alcoholic or abusive guys. Anyway, I think it’s great—finally someone who can handle you.]

Wen Yi was speechless. She turned off her phone, tossed it onto the quilt, and lay flat staring at the ceiling.

She had slept too much during the day and had no drowsiness at night. After stewing for a while, she grabbed her laptop to work. Hah, as if she did not have work too.

The group chat was buzzing with New Year cheer, but Tian Jia had already shared some insider gossip: after the holidays, the Strategic Innovation Department would officially launch, with leadership temporarily handled by a deputy general manager who did not oversee their department. That meant if Wei Yuan competed for the position, his chances were slim.

She had already taken sides earlier. If she flipped with the wind now, people would despise her for it. The best she could do was work hard and make the higher ups see her as irreplaceable.

But deep down, she knew that at Nu’an Pharmaceuticals, like any large corporation, mid level and above positions could not be secured through effort alone. It relied more on connections, social savvy, and the value you represented in the eyes of leadership.

She reviewed documents until ten o’clock, then went out for water. The secondary bedroom was dead silent; even the dog was nowhere in sight.

She deliberately made some noise. Perfect—he did not come out. He was probably deep in a problem. As Qin Xi had said, once he started working on math, he went deaf to the world.

At eleven, Wen Yi set down her laptop, planning to sleep. Whenever he came back—or if he came back at all—was up to him.

At twelve, Wen Yi rolled over. Her mind was clearer than ever. As expected, she should not have napped so much during the day.

After who knows how long, with her mouth tasting bland, she decided to go out for a stroll and buy some flavorful snacks. It was still the New Year period; outside should be lively.

She changed clothes and headed out, unexpectedly spotting someone in the dining area she should not have seen.

Qin Nanshan was dressed neatly, sitting upright—clearly he had moved his workspace out here. If Wen Yi guessed right, his doggy friend was probably sleeping soundly in the secondary bedroom.

She huffed and walked toward the entrance to change shoes.

Qin Nanshan looked at the shoes she had kicked into disarray, unsure what she was up to now. His brows furrowed tightly as he asked in confusion, “Where are you going?”

Wen Yi did not turn her head. “I want something sour.”

“Does it have to be now?”

“Mm.”

The man glanced down at his watch: twelve oh seven.

Outside, a fine misty rain fell, mixed with scattered snowflakes.

Qin Nanshan sighed softly in his heart, stood up, and said helplessly, “I’ll go buy it for you.”